


Reflections

by nervousninja



Category: Smallville
Genre: Gen, clex if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-17 12:01:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21054065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nervousninja/pseuds/nervousninja
Summary: Comprehension came too late





	Reflections

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers: season 7 Wrath.  


It was amazing the kind of clarity a prison cell and a little reflection could bring a person.

For instance, she’d known long before she had allowed herself to be forced down the aisle by the likes of Lionel Luthor that her relationship with Lex was a serious mistake. After all it didn’t take a rocket scientist to realise that their feelings for each other weren’t exactly sincere; and whilst it was true that they possessed a certain chemistry between the sheets, the unpleasant reality was that love and chemistry simply weren’t the same thing.

It was a fact she’d been wrestling with for months now; and a detail that had been plaguing her ever since she’d been shoved into the windowless cell that was undoubtedly about to become her home for the next couple of years.

Although she’d failed to see it before, she recognised now, that the real reason she’d allowed Lionel to manipulate her down the aisle that fateful day wasn’t out of some misguided loyalty to Clark, but because some part of her that she hadn’t been willing to explore back then, had rebelled at the thought of being cast in the role of Susie Homemaker to Clark’s all American hero persona.

It was one of the reasons Lex had attracted her so strongly to begin with, because unlike Clark, who seemed to always be making excuses for her or adopting the part of alpha male in her presence, Lex had managed to see her as nothing more than a woman.

To him, there was no such thing as a damsel in distress, she wasn’t fragile and he’d never felt the need to rescue her unnecessarily.

Instead he pushed her to do what was needed to seize the things she wanted out of life and unlike everyone else around her, he always insisted she become more self-reliant.

Even now, the very idea of being in charge of her own destiny as someone other than the fairy princess who’d forever been immortalised in the print of the Smallville Ledger was intoxicating.

More invigorating than that, was the knowledge that she didn’t need to live up to the persona Smallville had created for her. She could be someone she’d always wanted to be, someone who Lex could love and respected; and for a while she had been.

She had been cold, sharp and business minded. She had been the kind of woman who was ready to take on the Luthor name and everything it represented. More importantly she’d been allowed to become so much more than the girl next door whose life was destined to begin and end in Smallville.

What wasn’t so surprising now, she thought tiredly, staring down at the flakes of blood staining her perfectly manicured nails, was that she would’ve traded in all that power and new found self-assuredness tomorrow, if only to take back what she’d done.

At the time she’d barely flinched as she was led past his dead body. It had been easier to wrap herself up in self-righteousness instead, knowing positively without a shadow of a doubt that she’d been trying to do the right things, thus exempting herself from the reasonability of his death.

But as time kept moving and she remained alone, staring at nothing but four blank walls and a door whose paint was chipping, she finally understood what he’d been trying to tell her all along.

It wasn’t their place to play god; and no matter how great it felt being able to do something other than wait for the authorities to do their jobs. There was simply no justification great enough to rationalise them using the abilities bestowed upon them to extract revenge on those around them.

She understood that now, better than when he’d been trying to explain it to her. The tragedy was that her comprehension had come too late.

She’d already done the worse thing possible and there’d be no escape for her.

Her actions had cost him his life and by doing so she’d cost herself her own.

Fighting the tears that threatened to fall, she stared blankly at the pale chipping wall, trying to forget the way his vibrant green eyes had dulled before her, until lifeless.

She hadn’t known how to stop, not when only one thing stood between her and what she wanted. The powers she’d had provided her with the opportunity to do anything, to right the wrongs done against her.

She would’ve succeeded too if Clark hadn’t put himself between her and the object of her hatred.

Even now after so many hours had passed she could still picture everything so vividly.

It had been so easy to delude herself into believing while leaving Grant’s office, that the force driving her to track down Lex was all about her desire to obtain the necessary evidence required to ensure he served time.

The internal reflection forced upon her by being locked away in a cell however, had provided her with ample opportunity to admit, at least to herself, that her need to find Lex had more to do with her desire to take back everything he’d stolen from her, than about him paying for his criminal activities.

Even now in spite of everything, she could feel the unprecedented rush that had come from tracking Lex down and wrapping her hands around the delicate tissue that made up his neck.

He’d been so fragile then. Defenceless against her and the powers she possessed, vulnerable. Just as he had made her vulnerable when he had lied about a child that hadn’t truly existed.

It would’ve been so easy then, all she’d had too do was tighten her grip ever so slightly and it would’ve crushed the delicate bone, behind the fragile fresh and rendered him motionless.

She could remember the blinding rage as she had begun to tighten her grip. Lex’s eyes had bulged as his lungs struggled to get oxygen into them, she’d almost succeeded; and then he appeared.

Faster than anything she had ever seen, even with her super powered eyes, he had stopped before her, positioning himself between her and Lex the object of her wrath.

Staring down at the stains of blood marking her once again human, Lana shuddered.

His eyes had been dark with anger, she remembers, he had demanded to know what she thought she was doing. Pleaded with her to reconsider and to think about what her actions could cost them all.

He hadn’t realised until she had struck out at him that she was too far gone to be reasoned with.

Their fight had been vicious and fast; her words had been cold and furious as she tried to get past him to Lex.

Still, he had been stronger than her, still faster than anything she could properly track, even with her abilities.

It had been maddening

She had lashed out with everything she had; counting on the fact that he hadn’t wanted to hurt her.

Each strike caused the ground to shake, every hit made the ceiling crumble, even with Clark pulling his punches.

It had been a true clash of titans; and if Lex hadn’t had groaned, whispering Clark’s name, Clark probably would’ve won.

The problem was he had called out and Lana had seen an opportunity to gain the upper hand.

Kicking out, she’d watched in satisfaction as her one time lover flew backwards, slamming into the cabinets behind him. She hadn’t realised there had been Kryptonite in one them.

Watching with a horrified fascination as Clark fell forward impaling himself on the broken shards of glass and kryptonite, she’d done the only thing she could, she’d rushed towards him.

He’d used that as an opportunity to steal back the powers that had been coursing through her veins seconds before. Pushing the fallen power line into his chest as he grabbed for her, he absorbed the powers back into himself, killing himself in the process.

It had been his last heroic act; his eyes had been filled with so much hurt and betrayal as he stared at her fallen form.

Unable to move to comfort him, she had opened her mouth to say something, but then Lex had rushed towards them.

Tears falling freely as he rushed towards his ex-best friends side, he had knelt in the blood, not caring that it was soaking into a thousand dollar suit or that she was laying incapable of moving beside them.

Stroking back Clark’s blood matted hair he had whispered something into his ear, that sounded suspiciously like hold on, but even she knew it was too late. Smiling as best he could Clark had coughed up blood, muttering that he wouldn’t be there to save Lex in the future and then his eyes, once vibrant and bright had dulled, leaving him lifeless.

Lex had screamed then, he’d raged and cried in a way that she’d never witnessed before. It was then she realised that Lex had been in love with Clark.

It was then that she truly began to understand that everything that had transpired between them, their relationship, their marriage, everything; was in fact all about Clark and Lex’s obsession with him.

It was then that she began to grasp how her life would never again be her own.

Raising her head as the lock on the cell door finally turned, Lana stared up at the man who had once been her business partner and husband.

“Hello Lana.”

“Lex.” She whispered softly staring into his cold grey eyes.

Turning away, she stared at the floor, wishing his gaze would fall elsewhere.

“So, what’s going to happen now?” She questioned softly, knowing he was probably going to kill her now.

Even before becoming a Luthor, she’d known that Lex took it badly when things he considered to be his were damaged. She had thought she had been in that category once, she knew even if she had been, she wasn’t thought of as one of those people now.

“What happens now Lana, is your life is going to end.”

Inhaling slowly she stared at him, her eyes filling with tears. “So you’re going to kill me, then?”

Shaking his head, Lex leaned against the door, staring down at her frigidly.

“Oh no, you misunderstand me.” He stated smoothly, putting his hands in his pockets. “I’m not going to kill you Lana, no, worse than that. I’m going to keep you here. Locked away in this little room, away from your family, your friends and anyone who ever loved you. You’re going to live out your days confined in a box, all alone without the basic of humane resources. It will just be you and these four walls for the rest of your life. You’ll be fed of course, as for everything else…” he trailed of smirking.

“Lex, you can’t…”

“You’re wrong!” He bellowed, moving away from the door to stand up straight. “I can do anything I want to Lana, and there’s no one who can stop me. I should put a bullet in your head, but it would be too quick. This seems far more fitting after what you did. You kept him locked inside himself for years. You led him on and when you finally had him you threw him away. You flaunted your romances in front of him, only to dangle yourself in front of him again whenever things didn’t work out. You gave him an idea of what normal could be like and then when he wouldn’t give you what you wanted, you killed him for it. No, Lana, I think this prison is more than fitting.”

Turning his back on her, Lex paused briefly, his voice cold and distant. “I think you should make yourself comfortable, Ms Lang, for this will be the last place you’ll ever see.”

Closing her eyes, she listened as the door slammed shut for the last time.

The End


End file.
